Supporting Employee
Wellbeing and Productivity
An Early Intervention System for Back Pain
Work-related pain is a fact of life for a lot of us, whether in occupations involving physical activity or desk-based work.
Organisations of all sizes have embraced distributed teams and remote working, and ensuring that employees always work in appropriately designed settings is hard. Back pain can happen to anyone at any time and take a toll at work.
Impact of Back Pain in the Workplace
11mn+
People in the UK affected by backpain issues 1,2
10mn+
Days at work lost due to back pain annually1,2
£11bn+
Annual cost of back pain to the UK economy3,4
£208
Cost of back pain per employee per year5
Musculoskeletal issues (including back pain) are the second most common cause of short-term absences, and the third most common cause of long-term absences6 - resulting in an average of 18.4 days at work lost per case per year.7
Helping Employees Deal With Back Pain
Reportedly, 75% of people suffer significant back pain regularly or semi-regularly, yet only 25% seek treatment.
In addition, 83% of organisations report presenteeism (working when unwell) as an issue affecting productivity.6
Helping employees manage back pain is an effective way to support team members working from home or in the office, in the field or on the shop floor. Healthy staff are happier and more productive.
Request DemoWorkplace Trends
Remote Working
- Working remotely or from home is likely to last well beyond Covid-19.
- People are working longer hours without ergonomic workstations.
- Access to gyms and exercise facilities has been compromised by Covid-19.
Demanding Jobs
- Globalisation and technology are increasing complexity.
- Demand for complex / multiple / conflicting roles at all levels.
- The resulting stress and anxiety can have physiological symptoms such as back pain.
Distributed Teams
- With increasing automation and connectivity a lot of workers in jobs requiring physical activity often work independently on location.
- Hard to ensure appropriately designed settings for all workers.
- Back pain in many jobs often means not being able to work at all.
Wellness Initiatives
- Presenteeism is common and employees want to self-diagnose.
- Helping employees manage back pain is an effective way to support their wellbeing and productivity.
- Effective wellness programmes are vital for staying competitive through building employee engagement and value.
Multiple factors in the work environment cause musculoskeletal symptoms. Wellness policies have to strive to keep one step ahead.
Benefits of Our Approach
For Employees with Back Pain
- Access to swift, reliable triage
- Personalised advice, education and exercises for rehabilitation
- Prompt action reduces the duration of pain episodes and avoids developing chronic conditions
- Can be done at user's schedule
- Can be used alongside manual therapy
- Can be accessed as many times as users wish
- User anonymity can be maintained
For Organisations
- Broaden existing wellbeing initiatives, especially in the context of working remotely
- Drive productivity by minimising the impact of a leading cause of time off work and of presenteeism
- Can be delivered within or without existing corporate medical insurance schemes
- Reduce costs - in terms of lower insurance premiums
- Enhance morale, increase engagement and strengthen organisational culture
Flexible, scalable addition to your wellness initiatives which is cost-effective from day one.
Bespoke Options
Our corporate clients often request us to create additional features, such as:
- Presentation by the founders to your employees, to explain:
- The importance of early intervention
- How to benefit most from our platform
- On-site filming / bespoke content :
- Relevant to the working practices and associated hazards specific to your company / sector
- Included alongside content delivered to your employees
- A 15 minute one-on-one online video consultation with a BackPain.online expert
- Similar programmes for knee / hip / shoulder / elbow pain, and exploration of related psychosocial issues (under development)
Users can access their personalised therapy programme as many times as they wish.
References:
- Musculoskeletal prevalence calculator, Versus Arthritis. www.versusarthritis.org/policy/resources-for-policy-makers/musculoskeletal-calculator
- Sickness Absence in the UK Labour Market 2018. https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/labourproductivity/articles/sicknessabsenceinthelabourmarket/2018 (2017-18)
- Maniadakis N, Gray A. The economic burden of back pain in the UK. 2000 Jan;84(1):95-103. doi: 10.1016/s0304-3959(99)00187-6. PMID: 10601677. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10601677/
- The State of Musculoskeletal Health 2019, Versus Arthritis. https://www.versusarthritis.org/media/14594/state-of-musculoskeletal-health-2019.pdf
- Back in Work, NHS Employers. https://www.nhsemployers.org/-/media/Employers/Documents/Retain-and-improve/Back-in-Work/Back-in-work-part-1-Introduction-and-key-messages-webfinal- 25-March.pdf
- Health and Well-being at work, CIPD. https://www.simplyhealth.co.uk/content/dam/simplyhealth/documents/CIPD-Health-and-Well-being-2019-report.pdf
- Work related musculoskeletal disorder statistics (WRMSDs) in Great Britain, Health & Safety Executive. https://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/causdis/msd.pdf